Pitino suspended for Louisville sex scandal

Frances Clayton | June 27, 2017, 7:17

Pitino suspended for Louisville sex scandal

A former Louisville director of basketball operations acted unethically when he committed serious violations by arranging striptease dances and sex acts for prospects, student-athletes and others, and did not cooperate with the investigation, according to a Division I Committee on Infractions panel.

The NCAAannounced Thursday coach Rick Pitino will receive a five-game ACC suspension for his role in the scandal. If recent history is any indication, Pitino will coach in that game.

Pitino, who has repeatedly denied any knowledge of former assistant Andre McGee's interactions with Powell, wasn't done.

The long-awaited NCAA announcement reiterated its original view that Pitino should have known about McGee's activities with Powell, who alleged in a 2015 book that staffer McGee paid her $10,000 for 22 shows at the Cardinals' dormitory from 2010-14, a period that includes their NCAA title run.

The show-cause penalty states that a college coach can not escape the violations by moving to another college. To nearly anyone who still puts value in doing the right thing, the NCAA's punishment seems to be a slap on the wrist. The university will identify the games - which could be as many as 108 regular season games and 15 post-season game - within 45 days.

The basketball program will be put on probation for four years.

"Although the panel did not conclude that the head men's basketball coach was aware of the activities, he did not exercise sufficient oversight of the former director of men's basketball operations".

Self-imposed recruiting restrictions were upheld.

Louisville will be allowed no more than 16 official visits during the 2017-18 school year.

Most of the incidents were at a campus dorm.

The former operations director was integral to on-campus recruiting and regularly interacted with visiting prospects. The public decision describes the details of his disassociation. The university will pay a self-imposed $5,000 fine, as well. Additionally, Louisville must return income earned from NCAA Tournament appearances in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015.

In terms of what really matters, Louisville should be thankful the NCAA accepted its self-imposed 2016 postseason ban without tacking on an additional year (s).

MVSU's Senior Associate Athletic Director Renia Edwards said the championship and tournament wins in which any ineligible students competed would be vacated. "I think they should just move on and let these guys do their thing". "It never should have happened, and that is why the school acted to severely penalize itself in 2016", Postel said.

In fact, despite U of L's objections, you could make a case the school skated.

But it leaves us with situations like Thursday, where the NCAA was incapable of creating a punishment that fit Louisville's crime, making Syracuse's pile of comparably small issues result in a harsher punishment. We have been open and transparent throughout this process.

"I'm disappointed. You know how important this program and this university is to me", Jurich said.

"This has been a very hard period for UofL". It saddens me that these events took place. The committee gave little credence to any actions taken by the school to show contrition. The release did not definitively state whether the school's 2013 national title or 2012 Final Four appearance were in jeopardy.

UofL acknowledged some wrongdoing in the case, but disputed several points in the NCAA's findings.